American, particularly minority, not being screen for cancer enough

Meredith Cohn

The percentage of Americans screened for cancer isn't meeting national targets, and the numbers are even worse for minorities, according the first federal study looking at disparities among Asiand and Hispanic groups.

For Asians they were 64.1 percent for breast cancer, 75.4 percent for cervical cancer and 46.9 percent for colorectal cancer. For Hispanics, they were 78.7 percent for cervical cancer and 46.5 percent for colorectal cancer.

“It is troubling to see that not all Americans are getting the recommended cancer screenings and that disparities continue to persist for certain populations. Screening can find breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers at an early stage when treatment is more effective,” Dr. Sallyann Coleman King, an epidemic intelligence service officer in CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control and lead author of the study, said in a statement. “We must continue to monitor cancer screening rates to improve the health of all Americans.”

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a national advisory board, recommends women aged 50-74 have a mammogram every two years. Sexually active women or those aged 21-65 should be screened for cervical cancer with a pap test every three years. Men and women aged 50-75 should have a colorectoral screening with a blood test every year or a signoidoscopy every five years or a colonoscopy every 10 years.

Screenings, not surprisingly, were lower among those without health insurance.